Innefu Labs, artificial intelligence company focused on national security, has raised USD 30 million in a Series B funding round led by Panthera Growth Partners. The round was completed through a mix of primary and secondary transactions from Panthera’s second fund. Founded by Tarun Wig and Abhishek Sharma, Innefu has spent over fifteen years building AI platforms specifically designed for defense, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies in India, and this fundraise marks one of the largest capital infusions the country’s national security technology sector has seen.
The company’s systems are currently deployed across a wide range of clients including defense agencies, intelligence organisations, law enforcement bodies, revenue intelligence units, and large enterprises. Innefu has consistently maintained annual revenues above Rs 100 crore, and holds multiple contracts in excess of Rs 100 crore each, spanning several high-stakes sectors.
The fresh capital is earmarked for three major priorities. First, Innefu plans to scale its proprietary Agentic AI platform, an advanced decision support system built for high-trust, mission-critical environments. Second, the company intends to establish a dedicated Physical AI and robotics division, expanding its capabilities beyond software into the hardware and autonomous systems space. Third, the funds will go toward developing sovereign AI infrastructure, including domain-specific language models designed to operate securely without dependence on foreign technology.
Beyond product development, the investment is also intended to accelerate Innefu’s international expansion. The company has already made early inroads into the Middle East market, and the new capital will support a more structured push into global geographies. Alongside this, Panthera’s backing positions Innefu for a future IPO, signaling the company’s readiness to enter public markets.
What Makes Innefu Stand Out
Innefu was founded in 2010 with a deliberate focus on building technology entirely within India, rather than relying on platforms or infrastructure from foreign vendors. Over the years, this approach has resulted in the creation of some notable firsts. The company built India’s first National Terrorism Data Fusion Centre, Southeast Asia’s largest operational Intelligence Fusion Centre, and platforms covering revenue intelligence, predictive policing, open source intelligence, and deep web monitoring for law enforcement and defense agencies.
With more than 100 installations across the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, Innefu serves a diverse client base that includes defense and intelligence organisations, law enforcement agencies, financial intelligence units, BFSI sector clients, and Fortune 500 companies. This breadth of deployment gives the company a level of operational depth that is difficult to replicate.
Tarun Wig, Co-Founder and CEO of Innefu Labs, described the company’s founding philosophy as one rooted in the belief that India should never have to depend on external technologies to protect its people or secure its digital future. He noted that the next wave of global technology leadership will belong to nations that own and control their own intelligence infrastructure, and that Innefu is committed to making sure India is among them.
Abhishek Sharma, Co-Founder and CTO, added that the funding will allow the company to accelerate its Agentic AI capabilities, move into Physical AI and robotics, and expand globally, all with the goal of building a complete sovereign AI stack for environments that demand the highest levels of trust and security.
Shilpa Kulkarni, Founder and Managing Partner at Panthera Growth Partners, said the investment decision was driven by Innefu’s proprietary technology, deep subject matter expertise, and its demonstrated track record in some of the most sensitive and mission-critical environments. She noted that the firm is backing Innefu as it prepares for the public markets.
Krishan Kant Rathi, Managing Partner at First Bridge Investment Managers, an earlier backer of Innefu since 2017, also expressed confidence in the company’s trajectory, describing its emergence as a key technology partner for national intelligence and investigative agencies as deeply satisfying.
Panthera’s second fund draws institutional backing from investors across India, the European Union, and the United States. The fund typically deploys an average of USD 20 million per company at the growth stage, with a focus on businesses that have achieved clear product-market fit across India and Southeast Asia. Its broader portfolio includes names like OfBusiness, Zivame, EMotorad, FoxTale, Travelstack Tech, and Flipspaces.
This fundraise comes at a time when India’s push for self-reliance in defense and security technology is stronger than ever. Domestic procurement of critical security systems is rising sharply, and companies like Innefu, which have spent years building for this exact demand, are finding themselves at the center of a fast-growing market. With an IPO in sight and a global expansion underway, Innefu’s next chapter may well define what sovereign AI looks like for the region.
